SHERMAN OAKS—Sunkist Growers Inc. announced its partnership with Greene River Marketing Inc. Monday, August 5, in an effort to expand east.

“In addition to our growers’ California and Arizona programs, we feel fortunate to have such high-quality associations with Lone Star Produce in Texas and now Greene River Marketing in Florida,” said Kevin Fiori, Sunkist’s vice president of sales and marketing.

Sunkist grapefruit

Sunkist will now be marketing citrus grown by Greene River Marketing Inc., which is based in Vero Beach, Fla., under their label. There are four packinghouses involved in Vero Beach, including Greene River Packing Inc., Riverfront Packing Co. LLC, Leroy Smith Inc. and Oslo Citrus Growers Association Inc. Combined, these companies pack nearly 3 million cartons a year, according to the release.

According to the press release, Greene River’s grapefruit will remain central to the deal by providing a consistent supply to Sunkist throughout the year.

“We are excited about the expansion of our grapefruit program to Florida,” Fiori said. “We believe this expansion will provide our customers with the finest year-round supply of grapefruit out of all the major U.S. citrus growing areas.”

Patrick Rodgers, Greene River’s president, said he is looking forward to the association with Sunkist.

“Both organizations bring great strengths to each other and I see tremendous potential to both the domestic and export markets,” Rodgers said.